AN- This is my first story, so please, be kind yet constructive. Thanks.

14/7/09- This is an edited and improved version of my first chapter, I will be doing this for all of my chapters thus far. The storyline is essentially the same, but with minor improvements. Enjoy!

Normally the streets of New York would be filled with people hurrying in every direction, but darkness had fallen some time ago and what people now remained were of the unsavoury kind. Amongst them wandered a 17 year old girl, she was short for her age, with long matted brown hair and sad brown eyes, that were constantly fighting off waves of exhaustion. She had a thin frame, and wore a pair of old jeans, that were worn with holes, as well as a faded red shirt. Describing her as lost would be a gross understatement because she had absolutely no recollection of her life before waking up on the ground of a deserted alley a few hours ago.

Dragging her tired feet, the girl slumped over to a nearby gutter situated under a flittering street lamp and all but collapsed onto the ground. She was in an old street, with bricked up stores, graffiti and signs of vandalism everywhere, it was as ordinary and exactly the same as the many other streets she had wandered down that night. She wrapped her thin arms around her knees and leant her head against them, allowing her long hair to drape in front of her face. Silent tears flowed down her cheeks, feelings of hopelessness and misery overwhelming her. She was sure that she had never felt this alone, even if she couldn't remember it. She shivered in the cold night breeze, and hugged herself tighter, trying to retain what little warmth she had. The girl searched her memory for the umpteenth time, struggling to bring to mind anything from her past, and for the umpteenth time, she found nothing.

"Can I help you love?" a deep male voice asked. She looked up into the unkind face of a man standing over her, his sneer chilling her to the core.

"N-n-o", she stuttered, more from fear than from the cold night air. She shakily pulled herself to her feet, slowly backing away from the man, but he grabbed her arm roughly, preventing her escape, and gripping it hard enough to leave bruises.

"But I want to help you. I have something here that will ease your pain", he cackled menacingly. His hot breath washed over her and she could smell the alcohol in it.

"No, please... I don't want anything... I don't have any money", she replied, uselessly pulling on her arm.

The man tightened his grip and smiled evilly, looking at her in a way that made her skin crawl, "I'm sure there's something you can do for me in payment..."

The girl shuddered and desperately tried to pull her arm free, as the man laughed at the fear he could see in her eyes.

"Please..." She begged him, but again he laughed. There was no one around who would answer her calls for help so she silently prayed, 'Please someone, anyone, help me!'

The man dragged her into a deserted alleyway, as the girl's tears flowed faster. She fought him, using her nails to create deep scratches in his arms. Further down in the alleyway she saw a faint black shape in the darkness, it seemed to scamper along the ground. The girl gasped and fought with renewed strength against the man, trying to back out onto the street, but he had not seen the black shape, and thought nothing of it. He shoved her viciously onto the ground, laughing as she cried out when her arm hit the pavement awkwardly. It was then that he noticed the black shape bearing down on the two of them at an incredible speed.

The girl looked up from her ground-level view and her eyes widened as the shape became more distinct and she realised what it was. Squeaking as they ran, the hundreds of black rats continued on their path, not shying at the sight of humans. The girl screamed, and curled herself into a tight ball on the ground, cradling her sore arm and already imagining she felt their tiny claws and teeth crawling over her. To her surprise, nothing happened; she felt neither claws nor teeth anywhere on her body. Daring to look up, she saw the hundreds of the rats chasing after the fleeing man. He ran for his life, screaming at the top of his lungs. The girl shuddered and looked around her around her, noticing that much like Moses parting the Red Sea, when the squeaking horde reached her; they parted and went around her small body. The girl watched, terrified, as their furry bodies passed merely inches away from her own, yet they continued after the screaming man, completely ignoring her.

This strange phenomenon was too much for the girl to handle; she had no memory of who she was, what she was doing here and could not explain what had just happened. Her brain began to shut down to allow her to come to terms with the events of the night.

As she escaped into the blessed peace of the darkness, the girl thought she could hear several people talking as if in union, "Attack the human man, and protect the human girl. Attack the human man, and protect the human girl." They repeated this over and over, chanting it to themselves until she could hear their voices faded also.

AN- Please review. I will write more chapters if I get people's reviews, I promise the X-Men will come into the story very soon.

Hope everyone enjoyed the new and improved version!